Stripping the Ship of State

Public anger has grown in China lately over rampant corruption and the phenomenon of the “naked official,” the corruption government official who has managed to send his family members and (probably ill-gotten) assets overseas. The English-language Global Times reported recently that Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has worked to establish an anti-corruption network among its member nations to help deal with the “trans-boundary effects of corruption”. In the following cartoon, posted anonymously to Sina Weibo and shared widely by celebrity users like writer Li Chengpeng (李承鹏) before being deleted by web censors, corrupt officials in black suits rip apart the ship of state to construct their own private escape rafts, causing the nation to sink. Li Chengpeng wrote of the cartoon in his deleted post: “I’d like to know who drew this, and what it is titled. I found this on Weibo, and some people had called it “Leaving China”. I’ve given it the title, “The Ocean Journey Requires Cutting Away” (大海航行靠切割). Is there a better title? This cartoon says more than a three-volume novel series.”

About The Author

David is co-director of the China Media Project, and editor of the project’s website. He is the author of Dragons in Diamond Village (Penguin), a book of reportage about urbanisation and social activism in China, and co-editor of Investigative Journalism in China (HKU Press). His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Wall Street Journal, Index on Censorship, the South China Morning Post and others. He received a Human Rights Press Award in 2007 for an explanatory feature about China’s Internet censorship guidelines. David is a producer of Chinese independent films through his Hong Kong production company, Lantern Films. He has a Master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Mr. Bandurski is an honorary lecturer at the Journalism & Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong.

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The China Media Project is an independent research, fellowship and exchange program in partnership with the Journalism & Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong. The CMP fosters dialogue on key issues in Chinese media and communications, and monitors breaking developments in the field.